1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cathode active materials for lithium batteries, cathodes including the cathode active materials, and lithium batteries employing the cathode active materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lithium batteries are high capacity batteries, and thus, are widely used in portable information and communication equipment, which require lightness and long lifetime. Thus, the lithium battery industry has rapidly grown. The characteristics of lithium batteries are significantly affected by the electrochemical properties of the cathode active materials as well as by the anodes, the electrolyte solutions, the separators, etc.
Among current commercially available cathode active materials, LiCoO2 is the most widely used and has a capacity per weight of up to 140˜150 mAh/g due to its intrinsic characteristics. Prospective materials expected to be used as next generation high-voltage-based cathode materials have a capacity per weight of up to 180 mAh/g, and, when converted to capacity per unit volume, merely 600 mAh/cc.